Stripe it!

The 360˚ ClearPath alignment lines on TaylorMade’s new TP5 and TP5x Stripe balls are designed to help you put them in the hole quicker

By Tony Dear

We all know it doesn’t matter how well you strike the ball if you’re not aligned correctly. You could hit it as purely as Scottie Scheffler, but if you’re not aimed at your target you’re not going to get Scheffler-like results. Flush it when you’re aimed a few degrees offline, and you’ll likely wind up in a horrendous place from where making a bogey might be the best you can hope for.

TaylorMade has sought to help golfers align better for almost four years first adding its ClearPathAlignment Technology Pix to the TP5 ball in 2021 (visibility-improving Pix had first appeared in 2019) and, in March of 2022, adding a 22mm-wide lime stripe to its Tour Response ball.

There’s no doubt the stripe has proved a popular addition, especially for players who have trouble lining up the ball and putter effectively on the green.
Now, the alignment stripe has been added to TaylorMade’s premium ball, the TP5 (the TP5x has a firmer feel and is longer than the standard TP5) – so called because of its five layers, and whose latest version arrived at retail in February of this year.

Three layers surround the core in the TP5, each firmer than the last and infused with a Dow Chemical Company-developed substance named SpeedWrap. The results are a little more ball speed and lower driver spin with a softer sound at impact and enhanced feel – that’s a nice combination.

The soft, cast urethane cover, meanwhile, also helps impact feel better and creates excellent short-game spin enabling you to stop the ball quicker on the green and, hopefully, closer to the hole.

Unlike the lime stripe of the Tour Response (blue, red, orange, and light blue stripes are also available), the TP5 and TP5x’s stripes are white and bordered by a mass of black dots which might not appeal to fans of brightly-colored golf balls, but will be attractive to those who prefer something a little more subtle.

A pretty impressive list of tour pros that includes Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, and Nelly Korda play the TP5 and TP5x and TaylorMade expects some of its Tour players to put the striped version in play.

$58/dozen
Available now at taylormadegolf.com and retail.

 

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